Faced with an initial proposal in collective bargaining that held
absolutely no appeal, NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr is proceeding as
though it never happened. Rather than quibbling over the fine points of the
NHL’s offer, the union has chosen to re-imagine the league’s economic system in a
proposal it will deliver on Tuesday.

“What we expect to do tomorrow is to put forth an alternative
view as to what we should do next,” Fehr said Monday. “That’s the best way I can
put it.”

It’s a bold move with a Sept. 15 deadline looming for a
lockout.

The initial offer from the NHL called for a lowering of the
players’ share in revenue and introduced new contract restrictions, among other
things. There wasn’t one aspect of it that appealed to the union, with one
source saying the NHLPA felt it was designed to “anger and provoke” rather than
kickstart meaningful discussions.

Despite that, the union thoroughly examined it over the last
month before deciding there was no true counter-proposal to be made. Fehr will
instead offer up a “different kind of an approach” — one that no doubt includes
expanded revenue sharing and more flexibility than is currently allowed under
the league’s rigid salary cap system.

“It’s how the players see the world,” said Fehr.

But what about the owners?

Judging by the initial proposal, the biggest change they’re after
is reducing the amount of money spent on players. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman
acknowledged as much last week but has otherwise kept his cards pretty close to
the vest.

Negotiations have been underway for seven weeks, but he still
isn’t sure exactly what the union has in mind.

“I’m interested, very interested,” Bettman said of the
forthcoming proposal. “We’ll have to wait and see. I’m not going to try and
speculate as to what they’re going to present tomorrow. I have no idea.”

Time is beginning to run short with the current deal set to
expire on Sept. 15. Bettman added even more urgency to the talks when he
revealed last week that the players will be locked out if that date passes
without a new agreement.

It was a comment that resonated strongly with the players — many
of whom took to Twitter to voice their displeasure with it. Fehr took notice as
well.

“The tone (of negotiations), in a sense, I suppose is a little
different given that backdrop and the starkness from which it was delivered,” he
said.

The players will be looking to make a splash with their proposal
on Tuesday. As many as 25 union members are expected to be in attendance for the
session — including superstar Alex Ovechkin — and key details are slated to be
released publicly.

During Fehr’s time with baseball’s players’ union, he fought
vehemently against a salary cap and it’s believed he’s strongly in favour of
lessening the impact of the one the NHL instituted after losing the entire
2004-05 season to a lockout.

One way to do that is to introduce a luxury tax for teams that
spend above a specific threshold.

It’s unclear if the NHLPA might be able to interest owners in
that kind of system. Asked specifically about how he felt about a luxury tax on
Monday, Bettman declined comment by saying he won’t negotiate publicly.

Negotiations are about to pick up pace. Despite the fact the
sides have been talking throughout the summer, they finally seem ready to get
down to work.

“All things in this world at this stage of this negotiation are
possible,” said Fehr.

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